Machine for cleaning grain



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

B. T. TRIMMER-v Grain Wihnower.

| llfllli lll' I Patented July 27, 1858.

N. PETERS. Fhukoiilhcgmphar. Washington. D. c.

2 Sheets--Sheet' 2.

Patented July 27, 1858.

B. T. TRIMMER.

Grain Winnowen n l e FFIQ.

B. T. TRIMMER, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK.

MACHINE FOR CLEANING GRAIN.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 21,036, dated July 27,1858; Reissued September 29, 1863, No. 1,545,

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN T. TRIM- MER, of the city of Rochester, inthe county of Monroe and State of New York, have made and inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Machines for Cleaning Grain, ofwhich the following is a full and accurate description, reference beinghad to the accompanying drawings, making part of this specification, andto the letters of reference marked thereon, the same letters referringto like parts in all the figures.

Of said drawings Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved machine.Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section of the same and Fig. 3 shows the modeof communicating motion to the screen.

The nature of this invention will be best understood from a descriptionof its construction and mode of operation.

A A, is the frame of the machine.

B, is a fan blower driven by a band from the pulley C, to which anyconvenient driving power may be applied. The blast engendered by fan B,is driven through the three blast tubes D, E and F, which unltesgraduated as to carry off the lighter impurities, and the screen a 1ssufliciently coarse to allow the grain to pass through it but retainsany coarse matter such as chaff, oats, &c., which is carried down by itsinclination into the inclined spout K, by its side, and by it isdischarged outside of the machine. I) is a fine screen which retains thegrain, but passes the chess and other small seeds, which drop on theboard 0, the surface of which i11- clines in the same direction of thefirst screen a, and discharges also into the spout K, but the finescreen 6 inclines in an opposite direction discharging the grain overthe end of board 0 upon another fine screen cl inclined in the samedirection as 0. The finer matter which passes through this screen fallson the lower incline board 6 and is carried into the side spout L,whence it is discharged as from K. The wheat or grain thus screenedfalls into the spout M, and thence falls through the second blast E,int-o spout N, which conveys it into blast tube F.

In this tube the direction of its fall carries.

it across the blast, and it is received by the concave surface of thetube, and descends to the point of final discharge at 0., where itissues from the machine thoroughly cleansed of all impurities by theconjoint operation of the various screens and blasts.

A valve f is placed in the throat of the blast tube D, by which theforce may be regulated and adapted to the weight-of the grain with greatprecision, but still there Will be some lighter grains, and some portionof the chess, which will be carried upward, and to arrest these andprevent their being blown out with the dust, ,a cavity or deep expansionof the lower side of the tube is formed at P, for the purpose ofweakening the current so that these matters will drop of their ownweight. At the bottom of this an opening is made for discharging thematter thus obtained into the tilting spout g. This spout, representedseparately in a side view in Rig. 4, turns upon a center or axisconsisting of two pins, it being broad enough to inclose the mouth of I,and when inclined in one direction empties the grain, &c., upon thescree IS in the shaker J, to be acted upon again, or, if in the oppositedi rectio'n, discharges it with the refuse outside from its course,falling into the return spout Q. Here provision is made for passing itagain over the screen, or rejecting it with the refuse if its quality isworthless. This consists in the sliding deflector R, which sits upon thetop of the shaking box J, and is constructed to slide upon guides orways attached to its side. In the position represented in Fig. 2, itreceives the grain returned by spout Q, and being inclined like theupper screen deflects it into side spout K. If moved back, in theposition indicated by dotted lines, the spout Q, discharges directlyupon the screens, and the imperfect grain is again submitted to theordeal of screen and blast. The separation of various kinds of grain, asoats, rye, &c. from wheat, and the removal of chess, cockle and shrunkwheat,

depends materially upon subjecting them to blasts of varied intensitysuch as are obtained by the triple arrangement of tubes more fully bythe movable diaphragm s,

which separates tube F from the enlarged space of the blast-head inwhich the three terminate. It is hinged at y', and adjusted as requiredby the rod 76. By moving it outward it forms, with the recess at thedeflection of E, a largely expanded area which modifies the blast so asto allow the return of all but the lightest grain that may be drawn upit. It also receives that portion which the force of the current in Ehas carried up so as to emerge at Z. By so moving the diaphragm as tocontract tube F to a narrow space at Z, the blast is strengthened, andthe lighter grain from both E and F may be discharged above thediaphragm, and descend through the throat T, where it is discharged in aseparate place. The dust and slight impurities are all discharged at G,the main outlet of the blast head.

By turning valve h in the position shown in Fig. 2, nearly all the blastis driven up tube E, and with a force sufficient, if required, to carrya greater part of the grain up E, and this may be returned through thescreening box or shaker, again and again, or blown over at Z andreturned through tube F, where it is subjected to a lighter blast. Thisconcentrating the blast through E increases that of D, but this may beregulated as found necessary by the valve 7. Increasing and diminishingthe space between Z and the diaphragm S, also exerts an influence on theblast of D, for as that space is contracted the blast D is weakened bythe expansion of the head, and will drop its heavier particles throughT.

The arrangement of the several blast tubes, the movable diaphragm, andthe valves, is designed to give the operator perfect control over hismachine, enabling him to increase or modify the force of the blast whileacting on the grain in its several passages through the blasts, therebyadapting it to the variations in the gravity of the grain, as well as tothe cleaning and separating of different kinds of grain.

The shaker or screen box J, is operated with a vertical vibratory motionand horizontal sweeping motion at the same time. It is suspended by fourcoiled springs m one placed at each corner. Directly above it two disksor wheels 1% are hung at the end of vertical shafts 0. To the lower faceof these disks a rod p is attached to pins which form cranks. The pinsare placed at opposite relative positions to the shafts of the wheels,so that when rotated in opposite directions the ends of the rod 79 aremade to revolve also in opposite directions giving a compound circular,or gyratory movement as represented by the dotted lines 00 a in Fig. 3,which is an inverted plan view of this a1- rangement. Bevel gears orother equivalent arrangement are employed to drive these cranks in theiropposite directions. The rod 7) is attached to the top of the screen boxJ, causing it to pass through the same evolutions. Fig. 3, shows thescreen-box as attached at g, and Fig. 1, represents the parts inelevation. To vary this sweeping motion the crank pins are attached todovetailed slides 1 by which the crank may be made longer or shorter. Togive the vibrating motion a wedge-shaped cam s is attached to the faceof each crank wheel, so as to pass the rod 79 at each revolution. Playis given the rod on the two crank pins 6, Fig. 3, and the springs m holdit against the face of the wheels until it is raised by the point of thecams. As the cam passes the red the springs throw it back to its formerposition. The cams are so placed on the wheels that one end of the rodis passed by one before the opposite end is reached by the other, thusincreasing the vibrations produced upon the screens. These cams areraised and lowered at the thick end by means of a set screw it, to givegreater or less motion as required. The effect of this compound gyratingand vibratory motion upon the grain in passing the screens is verythorough, the motions being a close imitation of the natural operationof the human hands in screening. By means of this the horizontal motionof the screening surface is varied so as to give the greatest range ofmotion to the edges or exterior parts whilev the center is comparatively quiet. This tends to overcome the centrifugal tendency of thegrain whereby it is apt to clog at the borders of the screens and reducetheir superficial area.

I On some grains the use of the cams 8 may be dispensed with as they donot require such vigorous shaking.

hat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. Giving the screens an unequal, reversable, gyratory motion for thepurpose of neutralizing the centrifugal force of the.

3. I further claim the adjustable deflector 10 R, in combination Withthe screen box J, for returning the lighter grain through the screensand resubjecting it to the blast, or discharging it as refuse, asdescribed.

B. T. TRIMMER. Witnesses:

JOHN PHIN, G. S. NEWELL.

[Fms'r PRINTED 1911.]

